Ex-Rockford Weatherman To Undergo Serious Surgery

Although Eric Sorensen resides in the Quad Cities area, his Rockford viewers would still care to learn of what is to come for the meteorologist.

Eric Sorensen, once Rockford's most watched and respected meteorologists, has been at ABC-affiliate WQAD since July 7, 2014. In that time he's continued to deliver weather in a fun and informative way, as well as getting straight to the point when severe weather approaches his viewing area. Unfortunately, in 2016, he fought through a difficult medical situation described by WQAD.com as "a urinary tract problem discovered when he had a kidney stone removed" that required serious surgery. And now his 2018 will end with another major surgery.

Three opinions from surgeons have all told me the same thing: if you don’t do it, any trauma could put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.

Eric indicated he will have spinal surgery to repair an "interruption on the nerve in my neck" after dealing with losing grip when using his right hand as well as continuous nerve pain in his right arm and leg.

"I’ve got to get rid of this so we can have more fun in the mornings!", he wrote to his viewers. "These days, it’s a challenge to hold my cup of coffee, turn a key, button my shirt, shampoo my hair, click a mouse, type a keyboard, and use the gear shifter on my car." And, true to his personality, he looks towards the positives of undergoing surgery.

I can’t say I’m not scared, but rather more excited to have the pain go away and have me doing what I love again.

His recovery will take about a month, which may include difficulty talking. As someone that relies heavily on their voice, that in itself is scary. The voice issues can come along due to a procedure during the surgery, which he explained further.

A very small number of people having surgery this far up into the neck have long-term voice issues. That’s because surgeons have to move the esophagus in order to reach the spine. But there’s physical therapy to get that back to normal.

Perhaps the most optimistic piece of the letter is his thoughts on those that are experiencing tougher circumstances.

As I work to keep positive while contemplating the struggle ahead, I am reminded of the people who have it much worse than me. I know I’m not alone and am so blessed to have people who help me physically and emotionally. This isn’t going to end my life, just another bump in the road.

He'll post updates on Facebookas he's able if you'd like to keep up-to-date with his journey. We wish a successful surgery and a speedy recovery for you, Eric.